Teach Me How To Love
by Written.rhapsody
Summary: The war is over, and a small number of witches and wizards come back for their seventh year, Hermione and Draco among them. The war has changed many, but can old hate turn to new love? DMHG, BZGW, Fluffy, Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Each chapter is inspired by a song, however, this is not a songfic. Will be pretty fluffy, but hey, everyones needs fluffy sometimes. Enjoy : )**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, or anything related, do you really think I would be writing in Fanfiction? I do own this plot though.**

**xXx**

**Chapter One - Halo**

For Hermione, coming back to Hogwarts for her seventh and final year was a given. She had put the war and its losses behind her, ready to start the year afresh and with as much energy as she could possibly muster. She was essentially the same Hermione, same bookish ways and same know-it-all attitude, but she had changed, subtly. Her hair was still a bushy mess, though her teeth remained perfect since her shrinking of them. Her honey brown eyes still shone with excitement at the prospect of new parchment, new homework, and a new year. Her hand still flew to the air at each question, as if it had a life of its own. Her soul was very much the same. She was Hermione, just a little wiser.

For Draco, coming back to Hogwarts for his seventh and final year was a need. He hadn't put the war behind him; he still had nightmares, still awoke with cold sweats, still reached out for someone who could possibly be his saviour. He was drowning in his past miseries. He needed an escape. He was still the same person, but he also had changed. His demeanour was still powerful, still arrogant, yet so much more of a facade. His eyes, a past gunmetal grey, were lighter, almost silver, like a ghost of its past. His hair, which used to be slicked back, was still a striking platinum blonde but was left unrestrained. His mindset had changed, his views had been demolished and all he stood for in his life had been pulled from under his feet. He was Draco, just a little sadder.

**xXx**

The train was somehow empty; a lot of students opted to stay home and recuperate. Most of the Griffindor house was there, braving through their losses. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses had similar turnouts, a little less than that of Griffindor's. It was Slytherin that barely existed: a few ignored the glares enough to continue their education. On the whole, though, Hermione found the atmosphere simply quiet.

"Hermione?"

Hermione turned to Ginny, tearing her eyes off the page she was reading.

"How many times have you read that book?"

"About three times this year, why?"

"Oh, no reason."

Hermione smiled vaguely, and then turned back to her tattered book. Ginny sighed and slumped back into her seat. She missed Harry already. He and Ron had opted not to continue their study, since they had been offered jobs as Aurors straight up by the new ministry. Hermione thought that it was preposterous for them to not continue their education, however redundant. Secretly, though, she was indignant because she knew the year wouldn't be the same without them.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Hermione looked up and nodded, suddenly ravenous. As she got up, she realised she still hadn't put on her robes. Telling herself that she would worry about that later, she walked over to the trolley and began to decide what she wanted. She eventually chose four Chocolate Frogs and two pumpkin pasties, and was reaching for her money to pay for them, when the opposite carriage door opened.

Blaise Zabini was how she remembered him. It was his companion that threw Hermione off completely.

Draco Malfoy was still pale, still proud, still himself. Yet something in his weary eyes and his defeated posture made Hermione pay much more attention. He was taller, more defined: a man. His hair hung over his forehead, constantly getting into his eyes. But what really struck her was that as soon as he stepped out of his compartment, the sun illuminated his golden hair, creating an aura of some sort. It was like he had his very own halo.

His eyes caught hers, and they remained locked that way until Blaise leaned over to choose a Couldron Cake. Hermione offered a slight smile, to which she received a slight nod. Stepping back into his compartment, his halo faded, but Hermione still saw it there.

**xXx**

Draco brushed back his hair, eyes hardening. He didn't like the stares, nor the muttered curses. He wondered how any of them would have reacted given his situation. Not one of them could have resisted Voldemort to his extent. Draco Malfoy was many things, but he wasn't stupid, nor was he ignorant. He had just been a boy, lost in the evil that had swept up his world. He was safe now, he had learned to swim against the tide, to resist the easy way out.

What really threw him was one look, one person, one girl. Granger.

**xXx**

"You may have noticed that there are no prefects, nor Head Boys or Girls this year," Minerva McGonagall stated. No one let her strong, haughty expression fool them: they knew she was a softie. At least, the seventh years did.

"But, I find that it will be hard without student leaders this year. Therefore, I have decided to appoint four heads, one from each house."

Ginny patted Hermione's back, congratulating her.

"We haven't even heard who it will be yet!" Exclaimed Hermione, a slight smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

Inevitably, though, McGonagall called Hermione's name. Applause rang through the hall as Hermione blushed and looked on.

Draco stared at her as she smiled. He knew, she knew – hell, everybody knew – that Hermione would get Head Girl for Griffindor. Yet, she still had the grace to be modest. Or at least act convincingly so. But, Draco mused, Hermione was too much of a genuine soul to put on a masquerade. That was his job, he realised, with a cynical smirk.

"... from Hufflepuff, Hannah Abbot. From Ravenclaw, Michael Corner."

Polite applause.

"And from Slytherin, Draco Malfoy."

No applause, save for the smattering at the much diminished Slytherin table. Instead, twitters and whispers ran through the hall, some harsh words reaching Draco's ears. He remained stone, unmoving, masked, detached, cold. After all, he was the masquerade, wasn't he?

A slight movement to his left caught his eye, and he turned to find the Granger girl staring at him. She smiled, tentatively, a little 'congratulations' from her. He, not thinking at all, let his lips twitch upwards. A second only, and that was all it took, because she beamed at him as if he were one of the Golden Trio. He forced himself to look away, and once again focused on his food.

**xXx**

"Wow," Hermione breathed as she walked into the Heads' common room. Michael Corner smiled and walked past her, straight to one of the staircases. Unusually, it hadn't been separated. The two staircases lead to the same landing, where they could enter their respective rooms. A bathroom stood at each end, one with the inscription 'girls', the other with 'boys'. Hannah Abbot shared a smile with Hermione, and left to inspect her room.

"Whoa!" Michael's exclamation was heard from below. His face appeared at the landing, and he grinned, giving Hermione the thumbs up. Draco Malfoy swept his eyes across the room, noting the bare essentials, then made his way to his room and stayed there. On his way, though, he caught Hermione's eye. Her soft smile scared the shit out of him. How could she be so forgiving?

Hermione glanced at the paintings that adorned the common room wall, stepping closer to one in particular. A beautiful woman, with chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes, sat side-saddle upon a beautiful unicorn. It was still young; Hermione could see that it was still growing out of its yearling gold coat. Near the woman stood a man, eyes glinting with mischievousness as he offered her an apple. His hair was like spun gold, his eyes were like chips of ice. Warm ice. The age-old temptation story, yet with the roles reversed. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Draco," Hermione said, knocking on his door softly. Inside his room, Draco started, realising that she had used his first name. He stood up, against his brain which told him to stay put. Opening the door, he stared out at her. Her eyes widened as he finally came to the door, she opened her mouth and shut it again.

"Um. Hannah, Michael and I are going to Hogsmeade. Would you care to – uh – join us?"

Hermione bit her lip, brow furrowing. What the hell had she been thinking? He would say no, obviously-

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"... Okay?"

"Oh. Um. Okay."

Draco resisted the temptation to roll his eyes and say 'okay' again for the sake of it, and followed Hermione down. He didn't know why he had accepted, but he was Draco Malfoy, and right now Draco Malfoy needed an escape.

Hermione grabbed a white scarf and her coat and the four Heads made their way to Hogsmeade. Three joked and laughed in the front, while one trailed behind, cursing himself for coming. The stares were unnerving him now, he hated the whispers. They all still thought he was evil. They didn't know the truth. No one would.

**xXx**

"Hey Malf - Draco?"

He didn't respond, just looked at her. Inside, he smiled. Malfdraco. At least she was trying.

"Um.. Ron's birthday is coming up, and I wanted to get him something from the Quidditch shop... But I haven't the faintest idea what to get."

Draco raised an eyebrow. How the hell was he supposed to know what to get the stupid weasel?

"Um. I just need to select a good brand or something?"

Draco shrugged, lifting only one shoulder, then made his way to the Quidditch shop. He let Hermione go in first, and as he watched her look closely at a pair of tail twig-clippers, he realised that she really didn't have the faintest idea about anything related to Quidditch. And he found that immensely amusing.

"Her –Granger?"

"Hmm?" She mumbled, not realising that he had nearly said her first name.

"Those would be twig clippers. And I doubt the Weasel would want that."

Hermione looked at him, then back at the twig clippers, and nodded in a somewhat vague way. Draco lead the way to the back of the shop.

"Oh, of course! The Chudley Cannons!"

Draco looked at her, bemused.

"Oh, come off it. I know a little bit about Quidditch!"

She turned around and began to eye the merchandise, not noticing his little smile. And he didn't notice hers either.

**xXx**

**A/N: Reviewing would be lovely! **

**The song for this chapter was 'Halo' by Beyonce. Go listen. Good song. : )**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all for alerting/favourite-ing/etc. But, the massive thanks goes to my reviewers, _Ashley_ and _Kazama-Chan_. You are two pretty cool people.  
****Oh, and one more thing. I have an excessive use of the word 'homo' in this chapter, so sorry if I offend. I really don't mean to. **

**Disclaimer:  
"Hey, I own Harry Potter!"  
"Really?!"  
"No."**

**Chapter Two – Fire**

Hermione gave Ron his birthday present, wanting to see his face when he ripped open the wrapping paper. And it was priceless.

"Bloody hell Hermione! This is great!"

Hermione just smiled, then glanced at the clock that hung on the Weasley's overcrowded mantelpiece.

"I have to go now. I have potions," said Hermione. McGonagall had let her leave the school, via the Floo network, to give Ron his present. She was required back in ten minutes, and those ten minutes were almost up. Hugging Harry and Ron, she threw the Floo powder into the fire and clearly said "Hogwarts".

Coughing, she brushed the soot out of her hair and mumbled her thanks to the headmistress. McGonagall nodded in response and Hermione made her way back to the common room. As soon as she stepped through the portrait hole she felt a palpable difference in the mood. The air was thick with hostility, and she didn't know why.

Climbing up the stairs, she knocked on Draco's door. It opened, an inch or so. His eyes were foreboding and dark, but nevertheless began to speak.

"Thanks for helping me buy the present, Draco. Ron really liked it!"

His eyes narrowed, just a fraction, and his lips pressed into an even thinner line.

"That's just great. Don't call me Draco."

With that, the door clicked shut in Hermione's face, and she was left bewildered and wondering what was wrong.

His cold behaviour continued into the term, and once again he was Prince-Of-Slytherin Draco Malfoy, with his perfect smirk and his prefect glare. He had Blaise, and apparently that was all he needed, because both began, again, to terrorize first years and claim their territory. Hermione was, in a word, furious.

**xXx**

Professor Arnold Salamander stormed into the room, trying for the 'Snape' look. His robes, though, fluttered daintily at his feet and did not at all billow as Snape's used to. He, oblivious to his failure to be even remotely scary, slammed his books down, knocking over a collapsible cauldron. Then, he began to speak.

"Well? Open your books to page seven hundred and forty three, and read."

Hermione looked around at the bewildered faces of her classmates and timidly raised her hand.

"Professor? The book stops at page three hundred and twenty seven, sir."

Salamander looked devastated, but then he straightened and barked the next set of pages, flustered. Hermione hid her smile and complied.

"Now this potion must be brewed correctly. And to do so, I think two minds are better than one, so I will be pairing you up."

A chorus of groans erupted from the class as Salamander began reading out his pairings.

"... Hermione Granger, Blaise Zabini... Millicent Bulstrode, Lavender Brown... Draco Malfoy, Parvati Patil..."

Hermione looked up in time to catch that calculating glare of the dark-skinned man, shivering at the ferocity of his eyes. They were pitch black, like a black hole, like space, but then again, there was intelligence. Cold intelligence. Hermione stood up and moved to Blaise's table, waiting for Draco to move. Instead, Blaise stood up and glanced down at Draco. Their eyes locked, and with a slight nod, Blaise led Hermione back to her table.

**xXx**

It was hard to concentrate with Blaise's eyes boring into the side of her skull, so Hermione turned to him and told him to get over it. The strength of her words sufficiently surprised Blaise, and even more surprisingly, he stopped with the intense looks of disgust. Instead, he opted for mild annoyance.

"Thank you," Hermione said, as Blaise passed her the lacewings. He stared at her, then nodded, and proceeded to stir the cauldron three times anticlockwise. It turned a rather lovely lilac colour, and Hermione clapped her hands in happiness. It was the right colour. Blaise rolled his eyes, and Salamander began to speak.

"Well, you are going to have to progressively come back to this potion two times a day to add more ingredients and the like, so organise some convenient times with your partner.

Hermione looked up at Blaise, waiting to see what he would say.

"Lunch, after lessons."

With that terse sentence, the first time she had heard his voice that day, he stood up and walked out of the door with Draco. Hermione waited a few seconds before exiting and making her way to Advanced Arithmancy.

**xXx**

Hermione lay on the common room floor, writing out her Potions essay. She had already written two rolls more than was required, but that didn't stop her. She looked at the clock on the mantelpiece and gasped. She was already five minutes late for her meeting with Blaise, and she was positive that he was going to kill her.

Watching the Griffindor Head Girl sprint towards the dungeons was very amusing for many people, until she stopped and began to yell at them. Cowering, they continued with their business, and Hermione realised that she was still late.

"Granger. You're late."

"Wow, really?"

Blaise gave her a puzzled look. Hermione raised her eyebrows, then frowned in indignation.

"I am capable of sarcasm, you know!"

"Uh huh," Blaise said, and a ghost of a smirk flittered across his handsome features. It was Hermione's turn to give him a puzzled look.

"I am capable of smiling, you know," he said, throwing her words back at her. She smiled, and the ice was broken. Blaise had been one of the few people, including Draco, to turn to the light side. Hermione and Blaise had had their good times, and neither was sure of how to bring them up, until now.

"... and the time when you threw a Confundus Charm at someone, who turned out to be-"

"My reflection, and it rebounded off the mirror-"

"And hit you straight in the face!" Squealed Hermione, laughing so hard she had to grip the table for support. Blaise smiled down at her.

"You know, it feels much better to laugh with you, than at you," he said, quietly. She just nodded and smiled, and stirred the potion anti-clockwise. Blaise looked up at the ceiling. Draco was going to kill him. He was befriending the enemy.

"Blaise? Blaise? Blaise! God Damn, Blaise! Answer me!"

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt you fantasising about you and Draco?"

"Whhaaatt?" Blaise's eyes widened at Hermione's suggestion.

"Well you two _are_ awfully close..."

Blaise just gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing. Hermione just smiled and waved goodbye cheerily, then walked out of the room.

**xXx**

"Hey mate," Draco said, tackling Blaise off the couch.

"Aarrghhhh!"

Draco immediately let go of Blaise, looking down at him in concern.

"What?"

"You touched me!"

"Well, that is an essential element of _tackling_," Draco said, an eyebrow rising.

"Well, yes, but you don't have to hug me!"

Draco gave Blaise a blank look before dragging him up from the floor.

"Please, dear friend of mine, explain to me exactly when I hugged you in the whole of our exchange?"

"She thinks we're homo!"

"Say what?"

"Homo!" Wailed Blaise, scooting over to the other side of the couch, nearly falling off.

"Who said that? Who's the she?"

"You don't know her," Blaise said, a little too quickly. Draco raised an eyebrow, again.

"I know every girl in this school."

"That is true."

"So, who?"

"Well, let's just say that she has hazel eyes, and brown hair, and-"

"Granger?! Granger said that we were homosexual?"

"Hey! How did you know I was talking about Granger?"

"Well, Granger does fit the criteria. Only, you forgot irritating know-it-all."

Blaise stared.

"About half our year alone have hazel eyes and brown hair. How did you know it was her?"

"From the look of intense disgust on your face."

Blaise stared at him again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Homo!" Blaise wailed again, finally falling off the common room couch with a resounding _thud_.

**xXx**

Draco and Blaise walked to potions, Draco glaring at a first year who didn't get out of the way quickly enough. Blaise sniggered as he whacked the kid upside his head, and then continued on his way. The first year turned and glared, pulling out his wand. He muttered 'Diffindo', and grinned as Draco's box of quills ripped open. Ink and quills went everywhere.

"Damn," muttered Draco, kneeling down to pick up his quills, while Blaise stood in front of him, waiting.

"See," Blaise heard Hermione's voice, quite close to his ear, "homosexual."

Blaise finally understood that, from the back, the image of Blaise standing up and Draco kneeling in front of him was quite wrong.

"Aaarghh!"

"Son of a-" Draco said, as he dropped his gathered quills at Blaise's resounding yell.

"What? What now?" Draco exclaimed, irritated. He looked around Blaise's legs and saw Hermione nearly crying from all the laughing she was doing. Hermione threw Blaise an amused, 'see-you-later' look, and then looked down at Draco. Her eyes hardened and she turned and walked away, her smile fading. Draco began to frown. He picked up his quills and walked quietly next to Blaise, who couldn't seem to stop muttering 'homo!' under his breath.

Finally, it seemed, Draco opened his mouth and turned to Blaise.

"What did I do wrong?"

"What didn't you do wrong, mate? Where there's fire there's danger, man. "

"What's that supposed to mean," muttered Draco, giving Blaise a dark look.

"Well, the first day you actually treated her like a friend. Albeit a very, _very_ distant one. The next day you slam the door in her face, and from then on, you've been doing everything she wouldn't want you to. Actually," said Blaise, putting a finger against his chin as if in deep thought, "you might be right. You totally did nothing wrong. Not only that, but you're looking at her with fire in your eyes, and she's looking at you with fire in her eyes, and one day you're both going to create a massive inferno, and either burn and die or have passion and live."

Draco gave him his best glare, and stalked back to the Heads' common room, leaping straight up the stairs and into his room, muttering, _'why, thanks, confucious Blaise'_.

**A/N: Review!** **BTW, the song that inspired this chapter is 'Fire' by Sean Paul ft. Kelis.**


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